Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) | Movie Review
Good morning ladies and gents of the mighty X-Army, I hope you all have been as busy as I have. Today we will be reviewing one of the best biopics in our opinion, Bohemian Rhapsody. Going into this film I personally went in the theater blank, jut to formulate an opinion first before I did the research. In a sense a backwards way to gathering information on a topic, but I am glad I did so. Without waffling on any further, let’s dive into it.
Plot|
Bohemian Rhapsody is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury. Freddie defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound. They reach unparalleled success, but in an unexpected turn Freddie, surrounded by darker influences, shuns Queen in pursuit of his solo career. Having suffered greatly without the collaboration of Queen, Freddie manages to reunite with his band-mates just in time for Live Aid. While bravely facing a recent AIDS diagnosis, Freddie leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. Queen cements a legacy that continues to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day.
Cast|
Starting off the list of excellent actors and actresses in this film is Mr. Robot himself, Rami Malek. In the film Rami portrays Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the legendary band Queen. In the film we see Freddie struggling with issues of accepting his sexual identity and accepting the mistakes he has made along his journey to stardom. Next up we have Lucy Boynton who plays Mary Austin. She is his one true love, according to Freddie, and one of the key person’s in his life that kept him from going too far over the edge. Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy and Joseph Mazzello play Brian, Roger and John in the film. They make up the pieces of Queen’s impactful sound as its members. In the film they represent the door that took Freddie from singing in his room to the star he became. Props to them.
Aiden Gillen, or Little Finger us GOT fans, plays John Reid in the film. He was officially the groups first manager and gave them complete freedom to create what they felt was impactful. Mike Myers plays the idiot in Ray Foster, the man who said Bohemian Rhapsody would never be a good enough song…Well sorry man but it’s amazing. He is forever known as the man who turned down a classic track because it was too lengthy. Finally bringing up the rear is the parasite of the film Paul Prenter, who was played by Allen Leech. It was this man who planted seeds in Freddie’s mind to quit the band and go solo and it was this man that took Freddie deeper into drug and sex addiction. Just a complete parasite.
Set-Pieces|
The first set-piece introduces us to Freddie, Farrokh Bulsara, working at a local airport in England struggling to lift the luggage, having hope of becoming the next big thing in music. That evening we see Freddie going to a college event in hopes to see a band of interest, Smile. His parents, who were not as supportive of him, refusing to let him leave as they found his lack of work ethic shameful. But he subsequently left and saw the group perform, captivated by what he saw and knowing he would be better than their original lead singer. The second set-piece sees the original group Smile break up and Freddie saw this as the opportunity to do an improv audition for them to become the lead. He became a member and the group performed the local college scene until they were discovered by John Reid and his management company. Through this company the group produced some of their most amazing work and had total creative control on what they wanted to produce.
The third set-piece sees the group’s management company send them to a farm to produce an album. Away from people and distractions, Freddie found it perfect to let loose and dig into levels of decibels never heard before. Each member wrote various songs for the album, but Freddie composed elements of Bohemian Rhapsody with the help of Paul. It was as this farm however Paul came on to Fred and tried to weasel his way in. Freddie, who was engaged to Mary at the time, rebuffed his advances. But this was the beginning of Freddie’s personal sexual journey. With this fuel of shock and inspiration, Bohemian was recorded and mastered to the satisfaction of the group. The fourth set-piece sees the boss of Queen’s management company rebuking the title track the group wants in favor of another, but the group refuses to budge. This results in Queen leaving that management company and seeing a more seasoned one.
The fifth set-piece sees the rise of Queen over a period of years. Releasing one hit after another and having with the world at their feet or in this biopic’s view, Freddie’s flamboyance. While on a concert tour in Brazil, we see the rift beginning to show between Freddie and his fiance Mary. Keeping secrets and exploring his secretive life sexually with male prostitutes. This is where we have an indication of Paul’s character as a leech, sucking out enthusiasm from Freddie and indulging him with tons of drugs. The rift that broke the camel’s back was when Freddie, tired of doing anthem songs like We Are The Champions, decides to pursue a solo career and making it clear that he is the main aspect of the band to the other band members. This subsequently is the reason Queen broke up. The sixth set-piece brings to light what I as a viewer saw in Freddie from the beginning, a lonely man who is afraid to be along. His solo career took him to various parts in Europe and he is struggling to come up with good music as he once created with Queen. With Paul maintaining drugs and varieties of men around him, Freddie was a corpse of his former self. Mary, concerned for her ex, went out to his rental home to talk sense to him in hopes he would come back to England and reconnect with the band. This fails however and Mary informs him about various events Paul has been keeping from him and look at what Paul has been like to him.
The seventh set-piece sees Freddie shocked by what he was told by Mary that same night and confronts Paul about the secrets he has been keeping. Paul confesses that he has been keeping benefit aids or reunion events from him. Paul admits and threatens to release photos of Freddie’s drug and sex fueled lifestyle to the press. Freddie, being a ballsy man, says he doesn’t care and wants Paul out of his life completely. Freddie makes his way back to England in hopes to talk to the other members of Queen to do the benefit concert for Africa at Wembley Stadium. Before this we see a decaying Freddie, who has been diagnosed with Aids, being told that because of the acceleration of the disease he has a short time left. Which is why Freddie was depicted being anxious and determined to do the Africa Benefit as a final goodbye to his fans and friends. The final set-piece sees the concert, more specifically Queen’s set, going incredible. To this day it was dubbed one of the best band sets the world has ever seen. The movie itself ends on the note of showing the bands legendary songs in We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions, but sadly Freddie died in the 1990s and leaving behind a piece of himself within Queen’s music. This man may have died, but his spirit is still here.
Conclusion & Rating|
This was one of the best biopics I have ever seen. I went into this movie blank to see first and research second. Not the best way to view a film, but I wanted to see what the band that made the most iconic songs I loved from the Mighty Ducks came from. I was slapped with history, musical genius, and massive flamboyance. I loved the fact I didn’t know Freddie was gay or that he had strange teeth, in this film they were too Bugs Bunny. Point is I didn’t care about the exterior of him nor his personal life, just his genius for music blew me away. Yes he could have slowed down on the sex thing, but everyone is different. He was a man struggling with his identity, sexuality, and other demons. That made this man more real to me and that’s why I give this film a solid 5 out of 5. Brilliant film and worth the money.
Ladies and gents thank you so much for checking out our review of Bohemian Rhapsody, we hope you enjoyed it. Please follow, share, and stay tuned for more content. Have blessed weekend and be safe out there. Take it easy!
Originally published at xagonspeaks.wordpress.com on November 10, 2018.
